a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for attaching and securing an auxiliary instrument to a surgical instrument, through the shaft of which an auxiliary instrument may be introduced.
When using simple endoscopes, which comprise essentially only one hollow shaft or shaft provided with an introduction channel, it is often necessary to introduce auxiliary instruments and to attach and secure them at the proximal end of the shaft. Auxiliary instruments of this type may be, for example, light-conducting stems, optical systems or operation instruments.
b) Description of the Prior Art
It is known from British patent 1,150,016, for example in the case of bronchoscopes and laryngoscopes, to attach a square stem extending radially outwards onto the proximal end of the shaft, onto which square stem an illuminating device provided with a corresponding square sleeve is pushed and clamped rigidly from the outside, which illuminating device then projects through a peripheral recess in the shaft into the interior thereof. The actual light-conducting stem in this design is inserted into a bore in the square stem extending parallel to the axis of the shaft using an insertion pin.
Furthermore, it is known to make a slot in the proximal end of the shaft in the axial direction and to suspend an angled light-conducting stem in this slot, which light-conducting stem is also secured in turn to an insertion pin in an adaptor bore at the end of the shaft by means of a ball catch element.
The securing of such an insertion pin by means of spring jaws or adjusting screws is also known.
In a further known instrument, a radial bushing or a bushing extending at an angle to the shaft and connected to the interior of the shaft is provided to attach an illuminating device to the proximal end of the shaft, into which bushing the illuminating device can be inserted from the outside and projects into the interior of the shaft using a small prism or mirror.
Since these attachment devices are always only suitable for securing a certain auxiliary instrument in an unalterable position on the shaft, in the case of bronchoscopes, several individual adapter sleeves, or adapter sleeves which can be mounted on the shaft one behind another, are used. Even if the auxiliary instrument can be fixed in the radial direction in this design, a considerable disadvantage does exist in that unintentional release of the mounted adapter sleeves and the instrument parts is possible when manipulating the instrument.
The object of the invention is to provide a device for attaching auxiliary instruments to be introduced into the shaft which is not limited to a certain type and design of these instruments, that is inter alia, can also be used for instrument shafts which are closed at the periphery or those which are divided, and which device can be attached to instrument shafts of different cross-sections in any position. Furthermore, the device should not impede the handling of the instrument.